HEALTH CARE IN SPAIN - SPANISH PUBLIC, PRIVATE MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

If you are buying a property in Spain, or indeed any other country, one of the main things it is vital to have is information about Spain's health care system. Like the UK, Spain has a national health service which provides free or low cost health care  and support for health problems in Spain for those contributing to Spanish social security systems and their dependents.  Take your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to receive the necessary healthcare during a visit to a European Economic Area or Swizerland, but be aware that the service varies from hospital to hospital. The service also caters for pensioners and includes those from other EU countries.

Spain has an excellent private health service and this complements the national health service. There are many English-speaking health practitioners in the more densely populated and tourist areas.  If you can afford it take out comprehensive private medical insurance before you go. The care system and options in Spain are excellent.

The health care provided in Spain equals any available service in Europe and in many cases is better.  However, standards vary across the country with national health scarce in many of the inland areas of low population. This is a point to consider when looking for somewhere to live if you or your children or elderly relatives have ongoing medical conditions that may require emergency treatment. Hospitals in Spain are mostly kitted out with the latest of equipment and highly trained nursing staff and Doctors.

Another point to consider is that Spain takes a different view to rehabilitation, convalescence and terminal illness, leaving care in these cases usually to the relatives. There are very few public nursing and retirement homes, very few hospices and convalescence homes.

However, the Spanish are among the world's healthiest people and have an average life expectancy of 80 for women and 74 for men, the highest in the EU. The incidence of heart disease in Spain is among the lowest in the world,  attributed to the Spanish Mediterranean diet!

So, whether you are planning on buying a holiday home in Spain or moving over to live and work or retire in Spain you may rest assured that the healthcare services in Spain are excellent, however we do recommend that you look into them carefully for any specific medical treatment you may require.